Amazon pays $2.5B settlement over deceptive Prime subscriptions

Another day, another settlement. Amazon has settled a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission FTC over misleading customers who signed up for Amazon Prime—though it claims it did nothing wrong. The FTC alleged that Amazon used deceptive methods to sign up consumers for Prime subscriptions—a...

Mental health company Cerebral failed to protect sensitive personal data, must pay $7 million

The Federal Trade Commission FTC has reached a settlement with online mental health services company Cerebral after the company was charged with failing to secure and protect sensitive health data. Cerebral has agreed to an order that will restrict how the company can use or disclose sensitive...

Facebook spied on Snapchat users to get analytics about the competition

Social media giant Facebook snooped on Snapchat users network traffic, engaged in anticompetitive behavior and exploited user data through deceptive practices. Thats according to a court document filed March 23, 2024. The document mentions Facebook’s so-called In-App Action Panel IAAP program,...

FTC Slams Avast with $16.5 Million Fine for Selling Users' Browsing Data

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission FTC has hit antivirus vendor Avast with a $16.5 million fine over charges that the firm sold users' browsing data to advertisers after claiming its products would block online tracking. In addition, the company has been banned from selling or licensing any web...

Google to pay $40m for "deceptive and unfair" location tracking practices

Google is going to pay $39.9 million to Washington State to put to rest a lawsuit about its location tracking practices which has been in play since last year. Google was accused of "misleading consumers" by State Attorney General Bob Ferguson. From the AG press release: Attorney General Bob...

Google sues "harassing and deceptive" impersonator

After receiving many complaints, Google has announced it has filed a lawsuit against a company that has made it its business to impersonate Google. The company going by the name of "G Verifier" deployed telemarketing and website tactics that were intended to persuade people they were doing busine...

YouTube transparency report shows battle against misinformation

Statistics for YouTube community guidelines enforcement are now available for the period April to June 2022, via Googles Transparency Report. YouTube channels are terminated if they accrue three community guideline strikes in 90 days, have a case of severe abuse predatory behaviour, for example, ...

This Company Uses AI to Outwit Malicious AI

Robust Intelligence is among a crop of companies that offer to protect clients from efforts at deception...

FTC Shutters $120 Million Tech Support, Bogus Software Scam

Earlier this week a federal court in Florida issued a temporary restraining order shutting down a series of organizations in the business of peddling fake software and nonexistent tech support services, temporarily freezing the assets of those companies’ and placing them under the control of a...

Flashlight App Settles with FTC

The makers of a popular Android flashlight application have settled with the Federal Trade Commission over allegations that they covertly tracked the locations of the “Brightest Flashlight Free” users and sold that information to advertising firms. The FTC’s charges stem primarily from the fact...

FTC Bares Teeth, Levies $800k Fine Against Data Brokerage Firm

In a first-of-its-kind ruling, the Federal Trade Commission FTC told data brokerage firm Spokeo it has until tomorrow to hand over $800,000 to the Treasurer of the United States. The ruling came in a case addressing the sale of personal Internet information for the purpose of job applicant...

Report: Google Negotiating with FTC over Apple Safari Privacy Breach

Search giant Google is in negotiations with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission FTC over the size of a fine it will pay. This, after the company was found in breach of privacy controls in Apple’s Safari browser earlier this year. According to an article from the Bloomberg news service, an unnamed...

Shady ChatSend App Linked to Facebook Spamming Activity

Security experts are warning Facebook users about a shady file-sharing application called ChatSend that has been linked to spammy e-mail and wall posts from the accounts of Facebook users who download it. According to a report by GFI Labs, questionable messages that link to ChatSend’s Facebook pa...

FTC Settles Charges With Android App Developer Over 'Unfair' Default Settings

In a landmark move, the Federal Trade Commission has settled charges it brought against the maker of a P2P file-sharing application that the commission alleged included unfair default settings that caused users to unknowingly share photos, videos and other personal data. The settlement with...

FTC: Google Used Deceptive Practices In Buzz Social Network

Search giant Google has agreed to settle a case with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday over charges that it used deceptive tactics and violated its own privacy policy when it launched Google Buzz, a social network, in 2010. Google agreed to implement a comprehensive privacy program a...

Understanding The Porn + Malware Connections

CAMBRIDGE — For a minimal investment of about $160, a single porn site operator can infect more than 20,000 computers with malware for use in cybercrime, according to an academic study presented at the Workshop on the Economics of Information Security WEIS 2010. The research team presented a...